DAVAO CITY— An official of a local environmental group said they will continue to push for the regulation of single-use plastic (SUP) bags following the approval of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the “No to SUP Ordinance of 2021”.

Mark Peñalver, the executive director of Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS), in an interview with MindaNews Monday, September 1, 2025, said they will continue to lobby against SUPs which clog waterways and worsen flooding in many parts of the city.

Peñalver said the inclusion of more items in the list of SUPs covered by the IRR will discourage the use and selling of SUP products.

The IRR was signed last July 31, 2025 by virtue of Executive Order No. 13.

The ordinance defines SUPs as items made out of plastic and designed to be used only once over a short time before being disposed of or discarded.

Businesses can still use SUPs, however, provided they pay a single-use plastic regulation fee (SUPRF) pegged at ₱5.

00 per item. The charge applies to both recyclables and non-recyclables.

The IRR lists the SUPs covered by the charge as follows:

• Plastic drinking cups lower than 0.2 mm in thickness (including polystyrene cups)

• Plastic ice cream cups and salad cups lower than 0.2 mm in thickness (including polystyrene cups)

• Plastic condiment, sauce or gravy containers lower than 0.2 mm in thickness

• Plastic cup lids and condiment, sauce or gravy container covers

• Plastic stirrers

• Plastic cutleries (spoon, fork, knife or a combination thereof)

• Plastic straws

• Plastic plates, meal box trays or clamshell packaging (including polystyrene meal box, tray or clamshell packaging)

• Plastic cake and pastry boxes, trays or clamshell packaging (including polystyrene cake and pastry box, tray or clamshell packaging)

• Plastic egg containers or clamshell packaging containing 12 eggs or less

• Plastic hand gloves

• Plastic materials used as buntings, and

• Plastic materials used as balloon sticks

But city councilor Temujin B. Ocampo, the chairperson of the City Council’s Committee for the Environment and Natural Resources, said there may be a need to further study the impact of including plastic bags as plastic bags are seen as necessary in packing up various items.

Ocampo said a transition period may be necessary to find alternatives to SUPs.

In the meantime, business owners may opt to charge customers a certain amount if they prefer to use SUPs. Ocampo said this pass-on charge may cover the cost of the P10,000.00 special permit needed to be able to sell or use SUPs.

“The city will give them time to change to adapt with the new [IRR],” he said, adding that there will be an information campaign to go with the enforcement of the ordinance.

“We really need to do this because our garbage continues to pile up in our sanitary landfill,” he said in the vernacular.
As of June 2025, the city continues to use its sanitary landfill in Barangay New Carmen despite it being at maximum capacity since 2023.